In the medical field, DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is the industry standard for formatting, transferring, storing and viewing any kind of medical image and other medical information in digital format. Based on the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model of the International Standards Organization (ISO), DICOM enables digital communication between diagnostic and therapeutic equipment and systems from various manufacturers. Specifically, DICOM enables the integration of scanners, servers, workstations, printers, and network hardware from multiple manufacturers into a picture archiving and communication system (PACS). The communication protocol is an application protocol that uses TCP/IP to communicate between systems. DICOM files can be exchanged between two entities that are capable of receiving image and patient data in DICOM format. Thus, DICOM is a global information-technology (IT) standard designed to ensure interoperability of systems used to generate, transfer, store, process, query, retrieve, view or print medical images and documents related thereto.
Medical images stored in DICOM format and reports related thereto are transmitted digitally via PACS. The universal format for PACS image storage and transfer is DICOM. Non-image data, such as scanned documents, may be incorporated into PACS using consumer industry standard formats like PDF (Portable Document Format), after these documents are encapsulated in DICOM formal. A PACS system consists of the following main components: (i) an imaging modality such as X-ray radiographic apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system, or the like; (ii) a secured network (typically TCP/IP network, e.g., Ethernet®) for transmission of patient image data and related information; (iii) workstations for interpreting and reviewing the images, (iv) archiving databases for the storage and retrieval of images and reports; and (v) workstations for providing access to the databases and making the data available to final users.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a conventional PACS system 1000. In FIG. 7, the PACS system 1000 includes an imaging modality 1010, an acquisition workstation 1020, a PACS storage server 1030, and one or more access workstations 1040 interconnected by a plurality of networks Nt1, Nt2 and Nt3. In the conventional PACS system 1000, images of a patient's anatomy acquired by the imaging modality 1010 and information related thereto are transmitted electronically over a first wired or wireless network Nt1 to an acquisition workstation 1020. Several acquisition workstations 1020 can be used, and these forward the acquired images, via a second wired or wireless network Nt2, to the PACS storage server 1030 for archiving. To use the archived images, a user can access any one of a plurality of workstations 1040 via an additional wired or wireless network Nt3. As used herein, a wired or wireless network refers to a physical wired or wireless communication channel that interconnects data processing devices for the purpose of data exchange. In that sense, a network is considered a medium or channel to establish a “physical connection” between two end devices (typically computers). Examples of a network include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the World Wide Web (WWW), and the like.
It is evident, therefore, that combined with advance networking technology and the Internet, a PACS system has the ability to provide timely and efficient access to medical images, medical reports and related data across extensive interconnected networks. Accordingly, PACS and the DICOM standard (protocol and format) are the current “state of the art” technology for production, retrieval, distribution, and display of medical images, as these provide substantial advantages over the conventional distribution of screen-film based images. Not only the digital world of PACS and DICOM offers higher resolution and higher quality images, but it also permits substantially instant access, distribution and analysis of medical images.
Currently, the use of certain medical applications, such as digital radiography (DR), has been expanded beyond the conventional medical environment, such as hospitals and imaging centers, to field-deployable uses in veterinarian, industrial and security imaging. For example, a growing field where digital radiography may be used is explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) for military and law enforcement purposes. Digital radiography is also being increasingly used for field deployable medical purposes in disaster and war zone environments to provide on-site fast and accurate care to disaster victims or wounded military personnel, respectively. In veterinarian imaging, DR equipment is routinely transported for on-site imaging. However, in the industrial, military, law enforcement and veterinarian environments, after acquiring an image, a PACS system or at the very least a DICOM compliant workstation is required to store, view and distribute images. This represents a problem for industrial, military or law enforcement entities, as well as for field-deployable medical applications where the equipment to deal with DICOM formatted images is not readily available. Often these images are acquired in-field remote environments where there is limited or no accessibility to DICOM workstations or PACS systems. Additionally, DICOM workstations and PACS systems are very expensive to deploy and are not practical for transport in the open field.
Although certain solutions for producing medical image data onto recording media have been previously proposed, hitherto it has been unknown of a solution that can provide immediate recording of DICOM formatted images onto removable/portable media directly at the imaging modality. That is, it has been unknown to the inventors herein a modality capable of directly producing DICOM-compliant studies onto removable storage media without the use of a physical network between the modality and an additional computer.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,801,422 to Wright et al., (herein “Wright”), discloses a system that allows for digital medical image data to be produced on a portable digital recording medium such as a compact disc (CD) or a digital versatile disc (DVD). Notably, the method for producing medical image data on the CD includes the steps of connecting a browsing terminal to a computer database configured to store medical image data, selecting medical image data from medical image data stored on the database, and recording the selected medical image data on portable digital recording medium. Accordingly, in the Wright patent, medical image data in DICOM format must first be stored in the computer database using a PACS network, and only then the medical image data can be retrieved (through PACS) from the database and produced on the CD.
Patent application publication US 2006/0149601, by Langhofer et al., (herein “Langhofer”) discloses a system and method for recording medical image data onto a digital recording media. Langhofer describes a video capturing device coupled to a medical imaging modality for capturing a plurality of video images from the medical imaging modality and converting the plurality of video images into digital images. A media writer is coupled to the video capturing device for recording the digital images onto a removable media. A computer is coupled to the medical imaging modality interface, the video capturing device and the media writer for controlling operation of the system. Here, medical images are captured by a video device as video images and digitized. The video device is not part of the modality itself, but has to be coupled to the modality. Moreover, a separate computer is coupled to the medical imaging modality interface, the video capturing device and the media writer for controlling operation of the system. Thus, it is seen that Langhofer's system may be a costly implementation not adequate for field-deployable applications.
In consideration of the foregoing background, it is evident that a need remains for a solution to the growing demand of digital radiographic imaging for field-deployable applications, as well as for industrial, military or law enforcement entities. In particular, a need remains for recording DICOM formatted images onto portable media directly within the imaging modality itself so that DICOM formatted images may be utilized in non-DICOM environments.